Assessment of Soil Quality in the Post Flood Soils of Sothern and Central Foothills of Kerala, India

The study was undertaken to evaluate the soil quality of post-flood soils of Agro-ecological Unit 12 (southern and central foothills) in Kottayam district, Kerala. Representative surface soil samples were collected from the area after the flood event. The samples were analysed in the laboratory for various physical, chemical, and biological soil properties. Principal component analysis was employed to select the minimum data set influencing soil quality in the study area. Using the scoring and weighted additive approach, a soil quality index was computed, and soils were classified into low, medium, and good categories based on the relative soil quality index. The results indicated that 95 per cent of the soils fell under the medium quality category, with RSQI values ranging from 50 to 70, while only five per cent of the soils were rated as poor.